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Tag:

electricity

Super-Efficient Cogeneration Solution Reduces Electricity Costs by up to 70%

Super-Efficient Cogeneration Solution Reduces Electricity Costs by up to 70%

written by sponsoredcontent

A Canadian cleantech company, Thermal Energy International Inc., is targeting the attractive cogeneration market with a super-efficient combined heat and power (CHP or cogeneration) solution for industrial and institutional markets. By combining its proprietary FLU-ACE heat recovery technology with existing power generation technologies, the company is able to offer the market a solution that represents a dramatic energy efficiency improvement over typical cogeneration systems widely available.

Thermal Energy International , Inc logo

Industrial sectors have long been the guiltiest of wasting energy. Most fossil fuel-burning plants that produce electricity, as well as many industrial users of such electricity, release large amounts of waste heat into the environment as an unwanted by-product. With cogeneration however, those same plants and manufacturing operations can capture this heat energy and get more use out of it.

Cogeneration is an inherently high-efficiency family of technologies to use fossil or renewable fuels to supply energy locally. Basically, cogeneration is the production of two types of energy at a single plant. Cogeneration systems decrease total fuel consumption and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by generating both electricity and useful heat from the same fuel input. While not really an energy source itself, cogeneration (also known as combined heat and power, or CHP for short), squeezes more usable energy out of each unit of fuel most everywhere it is applied.

Thermal Energy’s FLU-ACE system is a direct contact condensing heat recovery system that recovers the waste heat from the exhausts on boilers, dryers and other industrial heat sources. The recovered energy can be used for example, to pre-heat makeup water, heat Domestic Hot Water (DHW), or be used for heating systems etc. In addition, this also reduces greenhouse gases and helps work towards energy reduction targets.

Flu-Ace 8x10

Typical cogeneration systems can produce combustion efficiencies of as high as 75% (compared to 35% to 45% for a combined-cycle gas turbine plant). By combining a typical cogeneration unit with Thermal Energy’s FLU-ACE technology efficiencies can now be pushed as high as 95%.

“We are in a unique position to capitalize on the increasing popularity of combined heat and power systems by providing enhanced levels of efficiency not provided by typical cogeneration project developers,” – William Crossland, CEO of Thermal Energy.

Key Benefits of a FLU-ACE Augmented Cogeneration Project:

  • Up to 70% reduction in electricity costs;
  • Up to 95% energy utilization efficiency;
  • 15% to 20% natural gas energy savings;
  • Additional 15% to 20% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to typical CHP systems;
  • In the event of a blackout, the cogeneration unit works as a backup source securing the supply of energy so there is no danger of electricity supply being interrupted;
  • Verifiable emission reduction credits (ERCs)
  • Typical net project payback of two to five years.

Thermal Energy’s solutions are not limited to the traditional cogeneration system where only the electricity and heat is used. The company can also provide a tri-generation solution that produces electricity, usable heat and chilled water. In the hotter periods of the year where the availability of heat sinks are diminished, energy from the CHP can be used to generate chilled water, thus offering additional energy savings. Thermal Energy can also provide a hybrid energy solution where cogeneration or tri-generation is combined, for example with solar power generation. These systems are well-suited for locations where power demand peaks during peak solar production periods (such as power demand from chillers for air conditioning).

Combined Heat & Power system 1

Applications

Manufacturing operations and other industrial process plants, hospitals, universities and other institutions with a year-round need for both electrical power and steam are candidates for cogeneration. In areas where the relative cost of purchased electricity versus a readily available fossil fuel like natural gas is favorable, cogeneration can satisfy much of a facility’s electricity and heating needs at a substantially lower cost than traditional means. In addition, with absorption chilling, cooling loads can also be met with waste heat from on-site power generation (this is known as trigeneration).

Important Considerations

For many industrial and institutional operations, cogeneration is an energy solution that can save money, improve energy reliability and security, while reducing the facility’s carbon footprint. However, there are a few important considerations before going forward with a cogeneration project. Each project has its own unique drivers such as redundancy, maximum kilowatt capability, pollution issues, reliability of steam or kilowatt supply. An assessment by Thermal Energy’s qualified engineering team can help you determine whether cogeneration should play a part in the energy solution for your facility.

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This post has been sponsored by Thermal Energy International, Inc.



July 6, 2016 0 comment
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Wind Energy Was Top Energy Source in Spain in 2013

Wind Energy Was Top Energy Source in Spain in 2013

written by Edouard Stenger

2013 was an excellent year for wind energy in Spain as this renewable energy source became the first electricity source, just in front of nuclear. Wind power indeed accounted for more than 21 percent of the total electricity consumed in the country.

According to Somos Eolicos, a Spanish website, wind power produced almost 50 TWh in 2013, an increase by 16 percent over 2012. This large amount of electricity from wind prevented importing up to 3.7 billion Euros of fossil fuels.

Spain has an installed capacity of over 22 GW, the fourth largest in the world behind Germany, the United States of America and China (with 31 GW, 60GW and 75 GW, respectively). In 2013, the global wind power capacity reached 318 GW.

Furthermore, a local company is extremely well placed in the global competition. Gamesa is indeed the fourth largest company of the sector.

In 1996, there was only 163 MW of wind power capacity in the country. In 2001, already 3,442 MW; in 2005, 9,910 MW; in 2011, 21,673 MW. That’s right, the Spanish wind energy capacity grew 137 times between 1996 and 2012.

As a result of the boom, electricity in Spain got a little bit cheaper, 0.8% percent less in the first half of 2013, compared to a 2.32% increase in the overall Eurozone.

However, in 2013, only 175 MW of capacity were installed as the Spanish central government has decreased its financial aids.

Overall, renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro and solar generated almost a third – 32 percent – of  the electricity in the country in 2012. A decade ago, renewables brought only around 15 to 22 percent.

These are fantastic news that show how large countries can rely massively on clean energy sources. Another example of this is neighboring Portugal, which will be the topic of a next article.



February 13, 2014 0 comment
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Damming the Congo

written by Walter Wang

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is looking to capture the more of powers of the Congo River in what will be the largest and most powerful hydroelectric dam in the world. The Grand Inga Hydropower Project will produce up to 40,000 megawatts of electricity, doubling current dam champion, Three Gorges in China. The dam will

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December 19, 2013 0 comment
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We’ll be Hearing Plenty More About Hydrogen Fuel-cell Vehicles

written by Walter Wang

Every day, it seems we read more about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, most of which appear to be written purely to further confuse people who don’t really understand this in the first place. An excerpt from the article linked above: “Fuel-cell vehicles …. can operate on renewable hydrogen gas.” As the author must know, the concept of “renewable

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November 25, 2013 3 comments
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Geothermal Energy Projects Power Up

written by Walter Wang

In the renewable energy sector, solar and wind power have received the most attention, for good reasons. But activity is on the rise in another resource area, geothermal energy. The global market for geothermal power is growing rapidly, according to a recent report from the Geothermal Energy Association.

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September 13, 2013 0 comment
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Reframing Our Utilities’ Mission Statement

written by Walter Wang

I have to admit that tension really is brewing between the power utilities and the solar industry – at least the part of it that promotes distributed (e.g., rooftop) generation (DG). Yet it’s hard for me to understand all this bad blood. The utilities are doing exactly what we asked them to do: generate and distribute

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September 4, 2013 0 comment
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Two New Projects Boost Australia’s Solar Power Mix

written by Walter Wang

Australia is set to get more solar power into the grid with two new large scale PV farms. AGL Energy Limited recently announced that two large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects have managed to secure funding thanks to agreements with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the New South Wales (NSW) Government. The projects are expected to

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August 12, 2013 0 comment
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Conventional Hybrids Better for Climate Than EV’s in Most U.S. States

written by Yale Environment 360

Conventional gas-powered hybrid vehicles are still better for the climate than all-electric cars in most U.S. states, in part because these states still rely heavily on fossil fuels to produce electricity, according to a new report.

In 39 states, high-efficiency hybrids, such as

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August 9, 2013 1 comment
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Used Fuel-Efficient Cars: Your Eco-Auto Guide

written by Walter Wang

There’s good news for those in the market for a new car who want to buy used and save money on fuel costs over the years. With the popularity of hybrids and electric vehicles increasing, used car shoppers are now able to find fuel-efficient cars at great prices, without having to go through the hassle of buying new.

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February 11, 2013 0 comment
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Improved Ice Rink Quality and Energy Savings

written by Walter Wang

“In Europe, over 250 ice rink operators have started to use a vortex process technology, to lay and resurface ice rinks. This technology removes micro-bubbles from water by spinning the water into an ordered vortex movement. Through this process, micro- bubbles are driven to the inside of the swirl

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October 8, 2012 0 comment
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Save the Internet, Part 2: The Incentive Package

written by Walter Wang

Last time I talked about why energy matters (obviously for the internet). Today I’ll look at one half of the energy efficiency incentive package… or why we should care about saving energy (as if preserving talking cat videos was not enough of a reason).

Electricity is the cheapest form of power in most

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August 7, 2012 0 comment
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Historic Blackouts Reveal Troubling Holes in India’s Power Network

written by Yale Environment 360

The historic blackouts that left more than 670 million people in India without electricity this week revealed profound problems with a power network struggling to keep pace with one of the world’s fastest growing economies, experts say.

While it’s unclear what specifically triggered this

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August 2, 2012 0 comment
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Too Good To Fail: What’s Wrong With the Electric Grid?

written by Walter Wang

The temperature is 100 degrees and we have no air conditioning, no running water, no telephone and no Internet. It’s been 60 hours since our household lost electricity because of the super derecho, a rare surprise storm that swept ten US states and the nation’s capital on June 29.

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July 6, 2012 3 comments
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Cheap Solar Power for Poor People in India

written by Walter Wang

Another inspiring story about solar power benefitting the people who need it most: people living in emerging countries, in areas without grid connection and where often dirty kerosene is the only option.

The UK Guardian newspaper has run a story about the arrival of solar panels at a small village in Sullia

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July 5, 2012 0 comment
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